Custom Map #205: Transmissions. By: planetfall

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This topic is for discussion of map #205: Transmissions


Author: planetfall
Size: 48x256

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As you continue following the trail of Technytes, there are many questions, few answers, and these strange gray things... (Don't know what something does? Scan it! Don't know how to build a Technyte unit? Scan its shrine! Scanning is your friend!) #CRPL #CustomEnemy #Spores #NoDigitalis #NoRunners

[Jamz]

Aww yiss! Looking forward to this :)

[Jamz]

Lol just started this and some of the dialogue is amazing.

Spoiler

The one with regards to the reduced noise pollution of the generators was hilarious but most of all quite clever. Using the feedback we gave you on the previous maps, improving on it AND then actually making a fairly neat dialogue out of it. Nice!

[close]

Anyway, I'll try refrain from posting anything now until I actually finish this map.

[Clean0nion]

Holy mother of a phagocyte nucleus! This is brilliant!
As much information as you could ever want about any custom unit... and it even works for non-CRPL units!

[planetfall]

Holy mother of a phagocyte nucleus! This is brilliant!
As much information as you could ever want about any custom unit... and it even works for non-CRPL units!

I have to sig this.

[Jamz]

Great all done. Looking forward to the next.

Have to admit, I had to read some of those instructions a couple times before I could fully understand them. But again, it's probably just me. The CTRL-E function was helpful.
Playing from both opposite ends was a wee bit annoying at times but not a real problem.
Also, I really think in future installments, you should make a mention somewhere in the Map Description or in some other way about the fact that this is part of a series of maps. I would really imagine that people who are playing this map first time would be probably be thinking what on earth is going on and this could really have a bad impact on your map ratings.

[planetfall]

Great all done. Looking forward to the next.

Have to admit, I had to read some of those instructions a couple times before I could fully understand them. But again, it's probably just me. The CTRL-E function was helpful.
Playing from both opposite ends was a wee bit annoying at times but not a real problem.
Also, I really think in future installments, you should make a mention somewhere in the Map Description or in some other way about the fact that this is part of a series of maps. I would really imagine that people who are playing this map first time would be probably be thinking what on earth is going on and this could really have a bad impact on your map ratings.

Indeed I would, if I could come up with a series name :P What's more is that there wouldn't be any way to mark the older maps as part of the series... but that's no excuse to not start.

Glad to hear you liked it!

Would you mind telling me which instructions were the most confusing so I can improve them for future maps?

[Helper]

Just reading through before starting to play (old trick from the CW1 days).

Series name?
How's about "phagocyte nucleus" <smiling>.
Since your username is unique to CW, you could do a simple "planetfall01, 02, 03," etc.)

Too late to start playing tonight, but will give it a go first thing in the morning.

[Clean0nion]

Just make it a star system.

A giant cargo ship, its navigation systems damaged by asteroids, spores and enemy fire, blunders into the star system. It crashes into a small planet (which well be the last map in the series) which explodes most of the ship, sending its cargo of constructors and fancy power zone makers tumbling into space. Some landed on various planets, some intelligently grouped together in vain attempts to avoid the impending creeper, but most simply fell into the star. And now that the creeper has found out about all this tech, you can bet there'll be some fighting over it.

So what I'm saying is name it after this star system.

[planetfall]

Just make it a star system.

A giant cargo ship, its navigation systems damaged by asteroids, spores and enemy fire, blunders into the star system. It crashes into a small planet (which well be the last map in the series) which explodes most of the ship, sending its cargo of constructors and fancy power zone makers tumbling into space. Some landed on various planets, some intelligently grouped together in vain attempts to avoid the impending creeper, but most simply fell into the star. And now that the creeper has found out about all this tech, you can bet there'll be some fighting over it.

So what I'm saying is name it after this star system.

Good idea!
Unfortunately I already have an idea for the backstory of the technology, and it's basically incompatible with this...
Also, these planets can't be a star system. The north message artifact on this map already mentions a "giant creeper wave across many star systems." I can revise mechanics between levels but not lore...

[TLMike]

So, my idea for the CRPL-powered Explanation System worked out? :>

[TLMike]

I really enjoy that you were able to improve things so much, btw.

[Jamz]

Would you mind telling me which instructions were the most confusing so I can improve them for future maps?

Well actually, now that I think about it, I dont think it was that the instructions were confusing but rather, it was the AMOUNT of information there was.
Someone mentioned in your previous map, that you introduced too many new things in one map. Whilst I personally didn't agree with that in that particular map, I WOULD agree with it for this map. In this map you introduced:

1) The ability to move a Constructor in a different way provided it was supplied with packets.
2) The change in building a Generator with a Reactor and not a Shield.
3) The limitation that the Constructor could no longer build a Generator or other things unless they were now connected to a Tech Shrine.
4) The ability to now also build Beam Stations.
5) The ability to now also build extra Constructors.
6) Beam Stations being able to have different stats based on the Tech Shrines that were part of the network.
7) Beam Stations being able to have different stats based on the combination of Sprayers and Relays around it.

So as you can see, there's quite a lot of new things going on here in this one map. For me, it meant that I couldn't quite assimilate everything on the first read and that I had to spend quite a bit of time re-reading things which is why I mentioned the CTRL-E thingy was fantastic.
What I would like to suggest, is think about how virgil created the story mode for this game. Every map, there was something new. Either a different type of enemy, or a new unit, there was something always a bit different. But there weren't TOO many things. Perhaps just 1 or 2 new things and that was about it.
Dont get me wrong, I love your new innovations and that's why I really enjoy your maps. It's just that in this particular map, there were a bit too many new things and so it took a while to take it all in. The instructions were better than the last map's, just that now there were too many instructions for too many new things.
Especially when players struggled with using the constructor in the last map, I would've just made this map so that players can now get used to and accustom themselves properly to the new and improved constructor and not introduce tech shrines in this map. However, with that said, I do understand that the introducing of the tech shrines was necessary as part of your story (since you mentioned about the constructors having a strong electromagnetic charge and that schematics would degrade every 9 nanoseconds hence why tech shrines were needed as they could supply schematics much quicker.) But in that case, I would've limited the tech shrines to only provide schematics for Generators and THEN in the NEXT map, introduce tech shrines which can allow you to build beam stations and extra constructors. Do you see where I'm coming from?
The other thing which I worry about if you introduce too many things at once, is that you'll run out of ideas quicker and therefore fewer maps from you which would make me sad. :( If you slow down the rate at which you release new ideas, so that instead of for example releasing 10 new ideas in 1 map, you introduced 2 new ideas in 5 maps, then it means more maps from you which would make me happy. :) Lol but anyway, I'm sure you've probably got a plan


Now again, although I've written quite a bit here, I would probably say that you should take this with a pinch of salt. As I've said before, I'm a bit feeble minded which is why I probably couldn't handle all of that information in one go. Maybe if other people also found it overwhelming, then maybe you want to take this a bit more seriously.
And also, I should mention, that I was playing this map quite late at night, and I didn't have my regular amount of sleep the night before. So that probably played a part in me not understanding things so well.


(sorry for the long post. :()

[planetfall]

Would you mind telling me which instructions were the most confusing so I can improve them for future maps?

Well actually, now that I think about it, I dont think it was that the instructions were confusing but rather, it was the AMOUNT of information there was.
Someone mentioned in your previous map, that you introduced too many new things in one map. Whilst I personally didn't agree with that in that particular map, I WOULD agree with it for this map. In this map you introduced:

1) The ability to move a Constructor in a different way provided it was supplied with packets.
2) The change in building a Generator with a Reactor and not a Shield.
3) The limitation that the Constructor could no longer build a Generator or other things unless they were now connected to a Tech Shrine.
4) The ability to now also build Beam Stations.
5) The ability to now also build extra Constructors.
6) Beam Stations being able to have different stats based on the Tech Shrines that were part of the network.

(This also applies to other Technyte units... that's not helping my case much is it?)

7) Beam Stations being able to have different stats based on the combination of Sprayers and Relays around it.

So as you can see, there's quite a lot of new things going on here in this one map. For me, it meant that I couldn't quite assimilate everything on the first read and that I had to spend quite a bit of time re-reading things which is why I mentioned the CTRL-E thingy was fantastic.
What I would like to suggest, is think about how virgil created the story mode for this game. Every map, there was something new. Either a different type of enemy, or a new unit, there was something always a bit different. But there weren't TOO many things. Perhaps just 1 or 2 new things and that was about it.

But Virgil's units are a lot more "fundamental" than mine, and he doesn't explain what crpl stuff does very often.
I see where you're coming from though. A lot of times these concepts seem obvious to me just because I made them and they were so clear in my head before putting them into crpl.

Dont get me wrong, I love your new innovations and that's why I really enjoy your maps. It's just that in this particular map, there were a bit too many new things and so it took a while to take it all in. The instructions were better than the last map's, just that now there were too many instructions for too many new things.
Especially when players struggled with using the constructor in the last map, I would've just made this map so that players can now get used to and accustom themselves properly to the new and improved constructor and not introduce tech shrines in this map. However, with that said, I do understand that the introducing of the tech shrines was necessary as part of your story (since you mentioned about the constructors having a strong electromagnetic charge and that schematics would degrade every 9 nanoseconds hence why tech shrines were needed as they could supply schematics much quicker.) But in that case, I would've limited the tech shrines to only provide schematics for Generators and THEN in the NEXT map, introduce tech shrines which can allow you to build beam stations and extra constructors. Do you see where I'm coming from?

Yup. Except in my mind, before creating this, I thought of "tech shrines" as one big, clean, modular idea. (And they still are pretty big, clean, and modular, just odd to get used to.)

The other thing which I worry about if you introduce too many things at once, is that you'll run out of ideas quicker and therefore fewer maps from you which would make me sad. :( If you slow down the rate at which you release new ideas, so that instead of for example releasing 10 new ideas in 1 map, you introduced 2 new ideas in 5 maps, then it means more maps from you which would make me happy. :) Lol but anyway, I'm sure you've probably got a plan

Here is, if you're interested, the complete list of future ideas I have. SUPERSPOILERY, I know, but just to show you how much I still have ideas for:

Spoiler

Ptero-Former
Unit Compressor
Micro-Rift
Sonic Shockwave Generator
ICBM
Factory
Some kind of Tesla coil / chain effect thing
Friendly Black Hole Missiles

Corrupted Reactor
Burning Digitalis
Giant Robot Boss
Giant Turret Boss
Labyrinth map with FoW

[close]

Exactly how I'm going to fit all that in the storyline when I'm not sure where they're going to go after the next map... now that's a good question.

Now again, although I've written quite a bit here, I would probably say that you should take this with a pinch of salt. As I've said before, I'm a bit feeble minded which is why I probably couldn't handle all of that information in one go. Maybe if other people also found it overwhelming, then maybe you want to take this a bit more seriously.
And also, I should mention, that I was playing this map quite late at night, and I didn't have my regular amount of sleep the night before. So that probably played a part in me not understanding things so well.


(sorry for the long post. :()

No problem. You did better than I did and I played it wide awake in the afternoon :P  Well, time to fix that!

[Jamz]

Lol, I'm not clicking on that spoiler. :P
Thanks for warning me in advance